insisted. he insisted. he wanted to explain that he didn t do it. just as had he with dateline, edward etas told the jury his version of those computer searches and the trip north a week before paul s death. but in so doing, he left himself open to the prosecution s cross-examination. you had murdered paul duncsak in gold blood and fled that scene, driving to your mother s hopeful isn t that the truth? no, sir, that is not true. the victim s brother said he listened to ed ates testimony in utter disbelief. he was praying the jurors had too. you knew he was lying. i did not kill paul duncsak. you knew, you just felt he did. but it was ed ates shifting alibi that the police
sister s testimony, the mystery trip to new jersey. he knew the comings and goings of paul, so he was in the house waiting. as soon as he came in the door and moved a few feet into the hallway, the door opened and ed shot him. but what you really sunk ed ates for these jurors was his decision to testify directly. it all snapped together. i was certainly in shock that he took the stand, and then all of a sudden, when the change of the story of when he actually got there. he changed his story as well? just the changing of the story, we went from tuesday to wednesday to thursday. the wiretaps. i think that all certainly played into it. you are guilty. later in court, the victim s brother john duncsak vented his fury at the man who took his brother s life and robbed his children of their father. the defendant s decision to take the life of a human being with no regard for the effect that it may have on others is
tuesday. coaching his story. yes. the detectives were also digging into phone records and they came up with a plot. cell phones used by ed and his wife dottie ates had been registering hits at cell towers blocks from the victim s new jersey home only a week or so before the murder. the investigators also learned the florida couple had rented a vehicle in nearby pennsylvania in the same time frame. what was going on the with the ates and this trip north? they were essentially surveilling paul s house. eventually the new jersey investigators and prosecutors were convinced they had enough. in june of 2007, almost a year after the death of paul duncsak, they traveled to florida to the home of the ates family. tell me about the arrest. it s morning, isn t it? yes, i was coming out of my motor home. my wife was already out. i was starting across. my little grandson, the 5-year-old, was running to meet me, and a sheriff s car come racing up the driveway. they slapped handcuffs
sheet to him. exactly. so you have that luxury. thirdly and most importantly, he insisted. he insisted. he wanted to explain that he didn t do it. just as had he with dateline, edward etas told the jury his version of those computer searches and the trip north a week before paul duncsak s death. but in so doing, he left himself open to the prosecution s cross-examination. had you murdered paul duncsak in cold blood and fled that scene driving to your mother s home? isn t that the truth? no, sir, that is not true. the victim s brother, john duncsak said he listened to ed ates testimony in utter disbelief. he was praying the jurors had too. you knew he was lying. i did not kill paul duncsak. you knew, you just felt he did. but it was ed ates shifting alibi for the crime that the prosecutor believed would undo the florida man. when he changed from i was in louisiana on tuesday to i was in
so the detectives kept look at the ates family s possible involvement in the murder. roughly a month after the crime, they obtained wiretaps on various ates phone lines. what they heard sounded to them like a classic cover-up in the works. ed ates tried to make sure his family stayed on script when it came to the tuesday story, his alibi. you were there when i got there on tuesday. yes, right. okay. i ve just got to make sure we re all saying the same thing when it comes to it. at least one of them is ed ates forcing his alibi on his sister, basically saying i got there on tuesday. coaching his story. yes. the detectives were also digging into phone records and they came up with a plot. cell phones used by ed and his wife had been registering hits at cell towers just blocks from the victim s new jersey home, only a week or so before the murder. the investigators also learned the florida couple had rented a